Computer peripherals such as computer peripheral input devices, are well known in the industry. A computer mouse is a computer peripheral input device. The cursor technology for the computer mouse has evolved to include computer peripheral input devices that operate wirelessly. Such devices include self-contained power sources such as chemical batteries to store energy for operation of the computer peripheral input devices.
The power sources can be primary batteries that need to be replaced when the power is drained from them. The user of the computer peripheral must have spare batteries available to replace the drained batteries to continue to operate the computer peripheral.
The power sources can also be secondary batteries that require recharging in a charging unit on a regular basis. If the secondary battery is not recharged before it is drained of power, the user of the computer peripheral input device must recharge the drained secondary battery in the charging unit until the battery is sufficiently charged to run the computer peripheral input device and/or replace the discharged secondary battery with another secondary battery. In some cases it takes a few hours to recharge the battery. Moreover, recharging of the secondary battery requires a power source which may not be conveniently available. If the user of the computer peripheral is traveling, the user must bring the charging unit on the trip or use the computer peripheral sparingly to avoid draining the secondary battery.
It is desirable to have a supplemental power source available in the computer peripheral input device that does not require traveling with primary batteries and/or charging units for secondary batteries. It is also desirable to have a primary power source that is independent of batteries that require replacement or recharging.